The big trailer has done 5 trips to Europe now, and apart from the occasional modification or repair, doesn't get much done to it.

The Sankey conversion has to be on the ferry next May 12th to take Philip, while we should have the Mercedes and the big trailer, HGV medical permitting after my heart valve operation.

(Mercedes is 5990kg GVW, trailer is 3500kg, total is more than I can drive on Grandfather Rights C1+E, which is 8250kg max. If I renew my HGV Class2 licence, my C1+E gets uprated to 12000kg GCW)

Peter

Why is the weight on your C1+E so low?

Surely if you own a C1+E licence then that allows you to drive to the max weight?

Or is it because of the weight behind the van?
 
Why is the weight on your C1+E so low?

Surely if you own a C1+E licence then that allows you to drive to the max weight?

Or is it because of the weight behind the van?

'Grandfather Rights' C1+E has Code 107 after the group on your licence, this restricts the GTW to 8250kg. This is for people who held a full licence before 1997.

If you passed the test to get the C1+E group it would be 12000kg.

So, I can either take the C1+E test for £800+ or just renew my HGV Class 2 licence, both need medicals, but my HGV licence is free to renew.

Peter
 
'Grandfather Rights' C1+E has Code 107 after the group on your licence, this restricts the GTW to 8250kg. This is for people who held a full licence before 1997.

If you passed the test to get the C1+E group it would be 12000kg.

So, I can either take the C1+E test for £800+ or just renew my HGV Class 2 licence, both need medicals, but my HGV licence is free to renew.

Peter

Oh yeah, I've got the 107 code on my licence and that's what's confusing me As that is for the C1E which is van and trailer.
I've also got my C+E which is an Articulated entitlement.

Both the same but quite different. :)

O.k apologies for taking this thread off on a tangent. As you were. :cool:
 
O.k apologies for taking this thread off on a tangent. As you were. :cool:

No problem, many people think it's just a case of hooking up and off you go, but in fact you need to be careful with C1+E as the laden weight of the trailer must not exceed the weight of the towing vehicle.

"Category C1
You can drive vehicles weighing between 3,500 and 7,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg).

Category C1+E
You can drive C1 category vehicles with a trailer over 750kg, but the trailer - when fully loaded - can't weigh more than the vehicle.
The combined weight of both can’t exceed 12,000kg".


Quite a few vans would fall foul of that ruling.

Peter
 
Last edited:
No problem, many people think it's just a case of hooking up and off you go, but in fact you need to be careful with C1+E as the laden weight of the trailer must not exceed the weight of the towing vehicle.

"Category C1
You can drive vehicles weighing between 3,500 and 7,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg).

Category C1+E
You can drive C1 category vehicles with a trailer over 750kg, but the trailer - when fully loaded - can’t weigh more than the vehicle.
The combined weight of both can’t exceed 12,000kg".


Quite a few vans would fall foul of that ruling.

Peter

Oh just join the many and varied Caravanning facebook groups and it's every other question.

Anyway......where are the new pictures? :D :D :D
 
Anyway......where are the new pictures? :D :D :D

End of the month got in the way!

Got a few quiet days now before we get busy, but I've got LPG tank straps to replace on mine for its MOT on the 14th, plus I have a hospital meeting in Coventry next Wednesday so I need it roadworthy for then.

Philip had his 10g steel strips collected as well as my new stainless steel strap material, so we will be both out there in the next few days, pictures as soon as we do something interesting.

Peter
 
The wheels are being changed to NTC5193 Discovery 1 rims, the standard rims are a bit too 'Series' looking for Philip :)

The Vredestein tyres will be swapped over, they are nearly new and not original fitment.

Peter
 
Well, it's been getting on for a month and no updates!

Actually there has been progress, but nothing that's worth posting about.

The frame has been painted in Sandstone colour, there is still a small bit of welding to do, but the yard needs to be clear so we can turn the trailer over on its other side.

The gas piping has been started, Philip modified the gas pickup pipe from liquid out to vapour out, and he has run the 8mm piping up the centre of the chassis to go up to the filler point.

Here is the current chassis drawing, it is now 4 metres long and the body will be 1.6 metres wide:

SankeyFrame1.jpg


The floor panel should be here next week, followed by the extrusions for the main body.

The fly in the ointment is that I'm going into hospital next Tuesday for heart surgery, so my input will stop for a couple of weeks at least.

Peter
 
Hope the operation goes/went well LD!
I've been following this thread with interest - there's a lot of very good work there :)
 
Out on the 3rd August with shiny new heart valve :)

Philip has made some progress as well, I'll get up to the factory tomorrow and get some pictures.

I'm quite mobile, the stitches are healing very quickly, my GP was surprised that I was out in under a week.

Can't lift anything and I'm on Warfarin as well which messes up a lot of things, but the surgeon gave me 3 years after seeing the old valve when it came out.

Peter
 
Good to hear you're up and about.
I hope that means that it's just the valve that will last three years, and you'll last a bit longer!
 
15+ years is the expected lifetime for a replacement tissue valve, 3 years was about as long as the old one would have lasted.

Peter
 
Right, here are some update pictures, the lengths of body extrusion will be delivered today, cant rail, corner posts and side rave, plus a couple of corner capping castings.

Philip finished off the welding underneath by standing the trailer on its sides, then he painted the chassis:
Sankey66.jpg


The gas tank bracket has been reinforced and that is back on, plus it is piped up to the front filler point:
Sankey67.jpg


The body mountings are now fixed and the floor panel cut to size, wheelarch cutouts done. The floor is still loose in the shot, not located properlt yet:
Sankey68.jpg


A quick view under the floor to show what it is like the right way up. The gas filler pipe is visible coming forward to the filler:
Sankey69.jpg


A general shot of the floor panel, sun was a bit bright so not as good a picture as it might have been:
Sankey70.jpg


Another shot of the floor panel
Sankey71.jpg


Aalco's truck should be here this morning with the three lengths of extrusion, I'll post some pictures later.

Peter
 
Aalco delivered just now:

Sankey72.jpg


That gives us the starting materials to get the body framework cut up.

Peter
 
Because of my heart surgery, the workshop has had to try and get through the busiest month we have had this year with 33% of the workforce missing!

To be fair to Philip, he has had no spare time at all for the past two weeks, plus we've had some wet weather as well, but I think he is up there today, trying to progress the build.

When I built our big trailer I was very lucky in having good weather for 2 months, while Phil has had some poor weather and me being off in hospital.

I'll get some pictures as soon as there's something to see.

Peter
 

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